“It looks like security measures for terror.” That’s the scathing verdict of Bill McKay on Auckland’s Queen Street. A senior lecturer in Architecture and Planning at Auckland University,  McKay is referring to the concrete blocks staggered up and down the road to separate pedestrians and cyclists from traffic.

Speaking to Radio New Zealand’s Kathryn Ryan on the Nine to Noon programme recently, McKay described Queen Street as a “cock up … uninviting and unattractive.”

Auckland Transport’s work along Queen Street is part of the new Access for Everyone strategy, aimed at prioritising walking, cycling and public transport. The pilot is a key concept in the city masterplan, which was endorsed by the council planning committee in March. And being a pilot, it uses temporary materials and tests a range of activities to help people use the space.

“It’s a disaster,” McKay says. “I support the transition to fewer cars in central city, lowers speeds, reduction in through traffic and an increase in alternative transport. But the transition from the 20th Century car-dominated city to a walkable liveable inner city is difficult and has to be handled carefully.”

He compares Queen Street’s “road cones, slap sticks and concrete blocks” to the “well designed timber footpath extensions, colourful planters and seating” of High Street - both temporary measures but managed by different organisations.